Coolest Projects: learning maths with Krum’s awesome robot

Coolest Projects: learning maths with Krum’s awesome robot

In the run-up to Coolest Projects 2018, we are continuing to share inspiring stories from a selection of participants of last year’s event. This week, we heard from Krum, who was 8 years old when he attended Coolest Projects 2017 with his awesome project, FunMatics with mBot. Krum is a Ninja at Sofia @ Telerik Academy in Bulgaria.

Introducing Krum’s project: FunMatics with MBot

Krum took inspiration for his project when he was working on his maths homework for school, and had the idea to create a robot who could help him to solve his maths problems. This idea took hold when Krum decided to incorporate his mBot, which he had received for his birthday. I created a Scratch game with maths questions and programmed my mBot robot to interact with it and tell me whether my answer is true or false with pictures, sound and movement. I thought that would be a great way for kids to learn maths and have fun at the same time​”

Krum’s mission was not without its challenges, and he needed to overcome a few minor setbacks in the building of his project; “in the first attempts, mBot would sometimes calculate my results wrong, or turn its back on me instead of making a circle and facing me to ask the next question!” Krum also had a willing assistant in the form of his little sister, who helped him to prototype his project by trying out some maths questions, and also had lots of fun in the process!

From Coolest Projects Sofia to the RDS Dublin

Krum’s hard work and determination paid off and he had the opportunity to showcase his idea for the first time at Coolest Projects Sofia 2017- Bulgaria’s first Coolest Projects event! This was a huge milestone for Krum, and also for his fellow Ninjas at Telerik Academy and across Bulgaria. You can read more about Coolest Projects Sofia 2017 here.

Having been selected amongst the winners in the regional event, Krum was inspired to take his project all the way to Dublin for the international Coolest Projects showcase at the RDS. Krum had a fantastic experience at the event and he recalls some of his favourite moments from the day; “my favourite parts of the day were when I drank a blue radioactive drink, the cute fluffy blue “mini scientist” from Intel and also the electronics workshop with diodes and batteries!”

Krum was awarded Runner-Up in the Scratch aged 8 category. He celebrated his achievement by climbing to the top of a huge pyramid climbing net in Albert College Park playground and listening to his favourite song Dream it Possible,​​ while a welcome-back party awaited him at home in Sofia. Great work Krum!

Register your Coolest Projects idea

If you have been inspired by Krum and have an idea that you are working on at your Dojo or Raspberry Pi initiative, make sure to register your project for the Coolest Projects International event here. This year, Coolest Projects is also coming to the UK for an exciting UK event, which you can register for here. The closing date for registrations is the 25th March 2018 for both events, so we will look forward to receiving your ideas before then!

If you are unable to attend Coolest Projects this year, you can still share with us what you’re making using #MyCoolestProject to be in with a chance of winning a Pi Zero and more awesome prizes! Check out this blog post to find out more.